Wait... What is his plan?

Might I preface this post by saying that most of the hard questions my kids ask me are answered by "that is Heavenly Father's way of..." And so this was no different...After a hard night of croupy coughs and Cole swearing that he was having a near death experience by the size of the goober in his throat, we drove to Dr. Ciminello's office. After we were all checked in and awaiting to actually be seen, I explained that Cole would not only have to show the Dr. his throat but also show him his arm pits because they had been rashly a few days earlier. Oh... and also the little groin triangle... that was rashly too!

Cole: "um I am NOT (with emphasis!) lifting up my shirt. He will see my bare tummy."

Mom: "what about all the people who see your tummy when you swim?"

Cole:"I wear swim shirts mom... people don't see my bare tummy".

Mom: "well you'll also have to show him your groin".

Cole: "that's fine. but not my tummy."

moment of silence while mom reads on in the National Geographic...

Cole: "what a groin?"

Mom: "That is where your rash was down by the private parts, Cole."

Cole: "Oh geez! I am NOT (with more emphasis and an escape planning) pulling down my pants! You don't me MY privates, right?!"

Mom: "Doctors see these things all day! They have to or they can't diagnose you properly!"

Cole: "well then I'm going to be sick forever! Would you pull down your pants for the Dr?"

And so I gave my answer about 20 seconds of thought and then decided... what the heck! He's 5 he'll never get it!

Mom: "Um yes... I've had 3 babies Cole! Where do you think they come from?"

Cole: "Mom, I said your pants, not your shirt... but I'm not doing that either."

Silence. Never mind that I'm trying not to noticeably laugh over the sincerity and critical nature of these concerns...

Cole: "Where do babies come from?"

Mom: "well, Heavenly Father's plan to get his children from their mom's uterus to daylight isn't out the belly button Cole."

Thinking time.... silence....

Cole: "You're not saying?..." funny face.... "Bailey was right!"

Later on that night when we got home Cole remembered to let the kids in on the little education he had at the dinner table.

Cole: "do you know what Heavenly Father's plan to get the babies out of mom's tummy is?"

McKay... chokes on his food.

Bailey... "Please don't bring it up Cole."

Cole: "So mom, why did he have that plan anyway?"

Don't forget to Pray

Don't forget to include a few extras in your much needed prayers today...

Dear Nie and Mr. Nielson,

My best of wishes to you during the neck reconstruction. My wish is that the pain will be minimal, the results will exceed your expectation and that your recovery will be quick. And may the blessings of heaven be with you and yours through it all.

I promise to drop off Chocolate cup cakes with extra frosting while you are in AZ... don't feel like you must come to the door, just know they're from me... (Because eating chocolate helps everyone recover?!)

xo,

Becky

She woke up a whole year older

It's Bailey's Birthday again!

Why do they keep coming? Her father and I had the most disturbing conversation ever last night...

Bailey is 11... which means that in less than a decade she won't live in my house any more. It means I won't wake up to her sunny, spunky self everyday. It means that when we are sick at the same time I won't have anyone to lie next to me in bed and laugh even though our bellies feel like something out of a horror movie. This makes me not happy... and so I will think of something else.This is one of my favorite pictures of Bailey. One of about 10 trillion favorites!

Today when we awoke to Grandma Chrissy and Grandpa Konks morning "happy birthday" duet I took the phone to a sleeping Birthday girl and nearly fell over when I walked into the room to see such a large child in the bed that I am certain I tucked my little sweet pea into last night. "Oh BOY!" I shouted! "She grew up!" I considered the conversations over the past few months. They've gone from beginning with "mommy" to "mom". They've transformed into actual conversations like I have with friends. The questions have moved from "will you get me a cup of water?" to "so, when can I have a cell phone?" and for Christmas instead of asking for toys we've moved into the lists of clothes, technology, music and stylish boots. Where did the time go? People told me the day she was born, "don't blink! or you'll miss her life." I took that very seriously... but it still has FLOWN by!
When I asked Bailey what she would like for her birthday she started telling me that the girls at school call her "a girly girl". "What does that mean?" I inquired. Then with a sad expression she started in on this crazy story about how if she wears clothes, other than jeans and t-shirts, that the girls classify you as a "girly girl". "Is that bad?" I asked. "After all, you are a girl!" Then she said that her favorite color was 'pink and nobody else likes pink'. It was a concern weighing heavy on her shoulders. What does a mom say to a girly girl who loves pink that is feeling peer pressure to wear jeans and t-shirts in other colors? Trying to think back to those days I realized that I was a TOM BOY! My mother made me wear the girliest Gunny sack lace dresses she could find, curled my hair every Sunday (much to my dismay) and was adamant that I clog because she was so concerned about my dream to be buried in my jeans (with the lions on the pocket) and "E.T. loves River Heights Elementary School" t-shirt and cleats! It bothered her that she found cracked baby bird eggs in my pockets and that all my friends were neighborhood boys who loved playing tackle football and soccer all day and night with me. I hated pink. If it wasn't yellow it wasn't a color. And if the pants weren't made of denim they shouldn't be worn! And t-shirts... bless them! But I couldn't say that to her... And so I told Bailey to tell the girls, "I can't help but to be a girly girl! My mother is one. My aunts are and my Grandma's love fashion! And pink is our signature color! It is the very symbol of girl!" "anyway", I said, "when you go to another school where fashion is allowed people will dress different. and... and when you grow up those mean kids aren't even going to be around. It's going to be you and cousin Ellie (who is a Fashion Goddess) and the two of you are going to shop and hang out so none of this will matter. Just hold on for now!" And that must have sufficed her... because she then said, "okay! then for my birthday I would like perfume and lotion with sparkles in it and a new dress with tights and then maybe you could take me for a facial."

Ummmm.......... What happened to barbies?

HaPpY bIrThDaY bAiLeY!

I love everything about you... except that you keep growing up! But even then I can think of a zillion reasons why its going to be great to have you big as it was to hold you in my arms when you were oh soooo small.

I sure love you lady.

Sit down... its a whole month long!

We do not take the month of December lightly around these parts... It is one celebration after another! And so it went like this:
Dad's birthday... we will start there since I think that was the last time I documented much! It was a delight. He is now older. And wiser! And we ate cake.

Then Ellie Buns had a birthday. I want to dress like Ellie when I grow up. She is the fashion Diva! And Santa came to her birthday princess party! And he brought her every fairy tale barbie his elves ever made. ONE LUCKY DIVA! we ate cake.

Mum had a birthday. We had soup divine to heat our bones before we gathered at the temple lights to a marvelous display of Christmas! WOW! SO fun. Mum got a year older. And wiser! She is my twin (only separated by birth). And to go with the cake that we ate, I got a double chin for this picture!

The kids did a little Christmas choir concert for their parents. It was beautiful other than the fact that people have absolutely NO CONCERT MANNERS anymore. It is one of my soap boxes. You might see me in the news one day for some insane act on stupid people. (New Year's resolution #1: Don't do an insane act on stupid people.) Bailey loves the choir. She will sing her heart out one day! McKay will sing because I told him to. But he isn't in love with it yet! And you may find Cole singing his heart right out next to Bailey's. He loves his kindergarten sing!

We enjoyed the rain so much we played in it all day long! Please send more! It didn't even stop these little monkeys from target shooting the Halloween pumpkin that still isn't rotten.

Here is baby face #1 from Grandma and pa's Christmas spectacular! Is that so cute? I will eat him!
And here is baby face #2 from Grandpa and ma's Christmas spectacular. I will lick him like a peppermint pop since that is what is all over his sweet little face. FYI: This child is an exact re-make of my little (but not so any more) brother. INSIDE AND OUT! love him!!
Mum and pa had the Christmas party ornament exchange! Boy howdy... it was divine. We re-enacted Luke II (which is so fun with little people.) And then the spirit went straight out the door when Santa "ho ho hoed" his Jolly old self right into the middle of our party! He handed out gifts (BEFORE CHRISTMAS! WOW). And then Grandma sat on his beard and it came off! And then she lifted her buttocks cheeks so that Santa could put it back on. I think he must have been a helper. McKay says you can tell if he's a helper by his shoes. Because real Santa wears boots but helpers wear black Sunday shoes and leather looking leg warmers over them. Whatever?!
Then Aunt Tisha took all the boy cousins to Freestone Park to race frogs. They were in Boy heaven... HEAVEN! Playing with frogs and racing them. Good times. We took the frogs back to the pet store when they were done. No where to store them! When we got there we found out that they shouldn't be handled without gloves because they are toxic. WHAT?!
I made Jelly with Leslie. It was one of the funnest things I did this season. It was a gift she really wanted to give to her mother. Jelly, not jam, because her mother can't eat seeds but loves strawberries. And so Leslie saved all year to give such a gift from her heart. And it touched mine.
3 little people ready for slumber in their new Christmas Jammies on the Eve of His birth... And yes, it is a tradition that we share with 10 million other people to get new pjs on Christmas eve.
But slumber was not found before cookies, milk, and a little request was set out for Old St. Nick... Who did (indeed) stop by our house and graciously remembered the Mecham children.
Coley requested a bb gun like McKay's. And though you might think Santa is more responsible than that to give such a young child a gun, you are dead dog wrong! He delivered. (you know you just said, "you'll shoot your eye out kid".) And since everyone that heard of Cole's gift from Santa has said that to him so far, we now tell people that Coley got Legos. Because that is one of his other gifts. McKay got Madden 10. He was in Wii heaven all day! And the next... and still is! HOURS of fun! We haven't used the wii this much since Grandpa-great and Grandma Della delivered it last Christmas!
Bailey got Taylor Swift C.D... much requested... for her to sing along with. She is my favorite girl.

And the month didn't stop with Christmas, as know... Because then we struck up energy celebrate the NEW YEAR! And we rose the roof over there. BOY HOWDY... I haven't laughed so hard in the whole year. Those Lindbloms are fun people!

HaPpY nEw YeAr!

pooped out kids and a rescue date and a rescue.

No pictures... just a funny story:

It had been one of those days. The Mecham children woke up on the wrong side of the bed. By 10a.m. I knew it was going to be necessary for a night OUT with Mr. Mecham. It was confirmed, when at noon, Bailey and Cole began an argument over who would get to tell me something. (because I might enjoy a story more if the info came from a different child... right?!) And re-affirmed by little McKay's cries of boredom after being grounded from friends until Cole was his buddy again.

Make note that if I ever go into the looney bin it is because of sibling quarreling. I can't stand it! I knew there was something wrong. Either a child sick or up too late or hungry bellies. Why else would one wake up bitter? So I fed the children. But they didn't like their food. (YIKES!) I took their temperatures. Everyone normal. No booger noses. No coughing. Everyone healthy. Therefore it must have been the late night games and Christmas activities. Yes indeed! They were tired. But what kid is going to go to bed for the night when the sun is still up? And so I made a dedicated attempt to fill the day with activities and work to keep the young ones busy and when Mi Amore finally rescued me we made one last attempt to relieve the children from their miserable day. We took them bike riding at the church parking lot! It didn't work. Even the bike ride ended in tears.

It was dark. 6:00. I made mac and cheese for dinner (affectionately known as "yellow death")because it was fast... and then listened to the children complain about their meal in the background while I called 1-800-macarena iriqui (great babysitter). She was available to sit with the children while we escaped the insanity! The children ate, pulled on jamies, brushed teeth and were tucked in bed snuggy tight with prayers said by 7:00 p.m. And just before I walked out the door to pick up Ms. Iriqui I poked my little head in to see 3 children who had embraced sleep quickly.

We gave Macarena free reign of the pantry, fridge and freezer, Christmas goodies still lingering, the computer Internet and movies. We even told her to invite Ms. Katie to come hang out... It was going to be a very quiet night and we were so thankful that she was willing to come over.

I skipped to the car. Skipped! So happy for relief. Mr. Mecham and I went to dinner since we were getting quite hungry. Soup and salad. Perfect for the chilly evening. On the way home we decided to drive through the Honda dealership. It sounded like a good time to trade in our old Honda for a newer model with less miles. And so we pulled in but decided to drive through the lot instead of walking since the night air was a little too cool and the car was already toasty warm. When we found a few we liked we hopped out and quickly peeked inside... oblivious to time... happy to be shopping together with full bellies. But we knew we would have to come back another day. So we began our exit. The South exit was already gated and locked down... so we drove to the South/East exit... the one we had entered the lot at... it was also gated and locked down. I chuckled. Nate cursed. So we headed to the obvious only opening for the dealership... the North/East entrance. It was gated and locked. I chuckled. Nate cursed twice. We were totally locked into the dealership! Everyone had gone home. Lights inside were out. GONE!

We called the police. They would "send somebody out." And so after an hour MR. Nice policeman came out and listened to our story while shaking his head. The brave Mr. Mecham announced his desire to borrow the policeman's bolt cutters and made a honest effort to convince the officer that he had the right to do so since he had been locked into the dealership. The officer shook his head. The bolt cutters were not a part of the nights activities. The only thing Mr. Officer could do was loan us a phone (that we didn't need) to call somebody (at 10:30 p.m.) to get a ride home. But Mi Amore (bless his heart) couldn't bare to leave our already purchased Honda in a Honda dealership until the next morning. And so he remained firm in his idea that bolt cutters were necessary and that as soon as the nice policeman left that he would call uncle Loyd to bring them over. But before the Officer could leave the night janitor arrived and guess what? He had keys to the lock? What janitor has keys to the lot lock?
And so at 11:00 p.m. We were rescued and on our way home to our very sleeping children.
What a day!

Remembering His humble birth

My heart grew fonder...

Mr. Mecham has been out of town. He had some business to care for. He totally lucked out having it be in his home state which was a winter wonderland while he was there! We, at home, were jealous until he announced that it was "5"... as in 5 degrees F! Yikes! Actually, we were still jealous... Considering that we scored mightily in the "in-law" and cousin detail there.
It has been said that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Indeed it does!

My typical morning starts with Mr. Mecham doing something extraordinarily kind for me... take your pick of services... and then he heads off to work. He works a hard day ~ always making me proud to claim him! Then home he comes, tripping over himself to get here as soon as possible. And wouldn't you know, after the welcome home smooch he rolls up his sleeves and asks, "what can I do?" To be real honest, the hour he arrives home isn't always the funnest hour of the day. We lovingly refer to it as "happy hour"... dinner to finish up while kids are wining with hungry bellies... homework help is always needed... the afternoon whirlwind has displaced nearly every possession we own, and I look like a just ran a 10K in my apron. It is tricky at best! But papa comes to the rescue making life seem better. I begin my evening rant and Mr. Mecham smiles and nods until a laugh can be fit in without offense. He is just dreamy! Really... he is.

This is something I've always been grateful for... but today I'm more thankful than I was a week ago... because when it was gone I realized how much I craved it. And to set the record straight... I don't know if I could live a whole life without it. Because in his absence... my little heart not only grew more thankful, it also became fonder of such a guy.

Now... if you'll excuse me, he just walked in from the nightly grocery store run and I want to hear all about his trip, etc... My fond lil' heart can't wait!